Anna Nightingale

Anna Nightingale is an internationally acclaimed abstract expressionist painter who spends her time working between London, Luxembourg City and Gozo; a small island 93km south of Sicily and 288km north of Africa. “A great painting is not just a work of Art; each one is a story with its own active message. Anna Nightingale is a master story teller.” A.J.QUINNELL, late international best selling author.

A fine art painting graduate of Central Saint Martins, Anna has built international acclaim from her studios in Malta and Luxembourg. Anna is the director of intimate life drawing events, and most proudly the mother of James.

This new collection is my story of rebirth after a series of traumatic and life- threatening events. It is a story of hitting rock bottom and rising . . . of second chances and starting over.

Coming to understand life’s lessons, through a journey of self-discovery, I learnt that to feel fear is part of life. Being courageous comes from within. It is what you do with that unease, when you need to be brave, that makes you stand up and be counted.

I am interested in healing from within, in acceptance, understanding and forgiveness and have journeyed to find a place of peace. In hard times, in fact more so in tough times, I have come to believe that this is indeed possible.

Many of these elements I thought I had grasped, only to discover there was a lot to learn about myself. After long periods of self-reflection, in my continued recovery, a whole new perspective and awareness of life has developed, where I came to understand that perfection does not exist.

These, my paintings, represent the very essence of being alive, transcending time and space.

My story of finding completeness, balance and joy is transcribed through the many layers of paint. They are images in the mind, capturing a moment in time. Images that can be completed by the recipient. The messages and symbols I manifest are universal – they celebrate love, female strength and coming to own oneself.

This collection is dedicated to my son James, aged 9, my fellow warrior. Everything I do, I do for him.

What people say about Anna

Gabriel Buttigieg - Artist

I have had the good fortune of knowing Anna Nightingale for a number of years, in my capacity as visual artist. Her interest in my work has been constant, and this continued collegiality was the impetus for her invitation to put forward my thoughts about her forthcoming artistic exhibition at the Postal Museum in Valletta.

The hallmark of Anna’s artistic enterprise is her candid authenticity. Her soul radiates sensitivity and emotive intuition, facets of which are always present in her work, adding layers to its validity. She employs her artwork as a cathartic medium, creating atmospheric artistic ambiences which reflect her voyage through life, with its elations and turbulences.

Her paintings are a literal and metaphorical abstract rendition of the spaces which carve her life and her humanity. In abstract art, transcendence and an element of aura are the fundamental starting points of the viewer, with Anna employing a dramatically vibrant palette to give a palpable rendition to her emotions and thoughts. In this vein, the nonsensical assumes meaning and the absurd is rendered moot, when the soul of the artist is laid bare.